Colour and print can lift your spirits like nothing else

No one knows pattern like Orla Kiely. Gabrielle Fagan catches up with the designer to find out how it can make you happy.

Orla Kiely's renowned globally as the Queen of Prints - and it's a well-deserved title. The Irish-born mother-of-two, who began by designing hats and handbags in the early Nineties, has seen her retro motifs - most famously stems and pears - adorn everything from housewares to wallpaper and clothes.

Her latest book, A Life In Pattern: And How It Can Make You Happy Without You Even Noticing, coincides with a major exhibition, Orla Kiely: A Life In Pattern, at The Fashion and Textile Museum, London, until September 23, 2018.

The designer reveals how it all began, her inspirations, and her tips on decorating the Orla Kiely way... signing handbags with Robert, our baby son, on my lap. I had a full-time position as a print designer in the fashion industry on a freelance contract, so those moments were usually after work on the weekend.

"We lived in a purpose-built, first floor Victorian flat, which doubled up as a design studio, office and distribution centre, where boxes of stock were delivered and turned around while I was at work. nature has always been more abstract and graphic. I absorb inspiration in my travels, reading books, films, going to exhibitions, it never stops. Everyday objects inspire too, they can be interestingly random, which I love. I'll spot something and store it away for the right moment." versatile and has morphed into an array of different variations - I always get excited by the newest iterations." every room, whether it's a printed cushion, wallpaper or ceramic, an element of my work will be there. In the kitchen, our tableware adds something special at dinner times, and our towels in the bathrooms add that extra colour and pattern to everyday life."